- BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A huge car
bomb destroyed a five-story hotel in central Baghdad on Wednesday night,
killing at least 27 people and wounding 41 others, Iraqi police and the
U.S. military said.
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- American forces and Iraqi ambulances hurried to the scene
to help. Rescuers could be seen pulling bodies from the rubble of the Hotel
Jabal Lebanon, that was hit just three days before the first anniversary
of the start of the U.S.-led war to topple Saddam Hussein.
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- Americans, Britons, Egyptians as well as other foreigners
were staying at the hotel, resident Faleh Kalhan said.
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- The Bush administration offered prayers for the victims
but said such attacks would not change U.S. policy.
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- "Democracy is taking root in Iraq and there is no
turning back," said Scott McClellan, White House spokesman. "This
is a time of testing, but the terrorists will not prevail."
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- The explosion left a huge crater, and five smaller, adjacent
buildings were badly damaged. Six dazed and injured people stumbled from
the wreckage. A father cradled his young daughter, who was limp in his
arms.
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- "It has to be a car bomb. No rocket could cause
that amount of damage," said Pfc. Heath Balick of the U.S. Army's
1st Armored Division, which is responsible for security in Baghdad.
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- But several residents said they believed a rocket caused
the destruction.
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- "We saw the tail of a rocket, then we saw a big
flash and heard a big boom," said bystander Hashim al-Musawi.
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- Flames shot skyward, and heavy smoke rose from the intense
fires burning at the scene of the blast. Trees were on fire, and flames
jumped to nearby buildings. Eight cars were on fire, and one vehicle was
hurled by the blast into a store.
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- At least 10 people died, said Fouad Mohammed, an Iraqi
police officer.
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- Dozens of U.S. soldiers in Humvees and Bradley fighting
vehicles arrived and started to clear crowds. Bricks, air conditioners,
furniture, wires and other debris was blown hundreds of yards from the
hotel.
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- Earlier, two U.S. soldiers tried to help pull bodies
from the wreckage of the hotel, but angry Iraqis pushed them back.
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- The blast shook the nearby Palestine Hotel, where many
foreign contractors and journalists are based.
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- The explosion occurred behind Firdaus Square, where a
bronze statue of Saddam Hussein was felled April 9 with the help of U.S.
Marines who had just entered the center of the Iraqi capital.
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- The area of the blast, Karrada, is a mix of residential
and commercial buildings.
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reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority
of The Associated Press.
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- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=
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